Kathy Griffin and Elaine Stritch Liven Up the Emmys

Thank God we can always count on Kathy Griffin to inject a little energy into a boring awards show. Usually she does it from the outside, sniping at celebrities’ outfits with microphone in hand. But this year she finally got invited to the ball, winning a Creative Arts Emmy for Best Non-Competition Reality Program, and the star of Life on the D List didn’t disappoint, unleashing a joyfully blasphemous rant that has already earned complaints from the Catholic League.

“A lot of people come up here and thank Jesus for this,� Griffin said at this weekend’s show, at which the academy gives out the awards there aren’t time to hand out in Sunday’s main Emmy telecast. “But he had nothing to do with this. Suck it, Jesus, this award is my God now!�

The television academy has already announced that Griffin’s speech will be toned down or deleted when E! broadcasts the Creative Arts Emmys Saturday night. But according to online sources, Griffin’s speech wasn’t even the liveliest of the night. When it comes to bawdy acceptance speeches, Kathy Griffin is no Elaine Stritch.

“Un-fucking-believable,� Stritch reportedly hollered from the stage after winning the Emmy for Guest Actress in a Comedy Series. “I’m a recovering alcoholic, a riddled diabetic, and I’ve got laryngitis … but I just won an Emmy!� Backstage, she weighed in on her embattled 30 Rock co-star: “You all know Alec Baldwin’s nuts. I don’t want to go on dates with him, but he’s what I call a fine actor. I hope he calms down and takes it easy.�

How awesome was Stritch? Later, host Carlos Mencia told the crowd that he’d been backstage debating whether to say “bullshit� or “BS� onstage, and Elaine Stritch grabbed him by the balls and told him “not to be such a fucking pussy.�

Griffin’s Emmy Remarks to Be Censored [AP]
Censors Lose: “Dick in a Box� “South Park,� “D-List� Win Emmys [Hollywood Today]
Inside the Emmys: All the Gossip from the Creative Arts Bash! [TV Guide]
A Tie for Best Acceptance Speech [FilmStew]